Geas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A sacred prohibition or obligation laid on someone by fate or a supernatural force, which they feel bound to obey ; a solemn charge or compulsion pressing a person to act in a certain way, as found in old Celtic tales
2. A mystical vow or taboo imposed by a higher power that a person is compelled to keep ; an insistent duty or binding command placed upon a hero in ancient Irish stories
3. An inescapable supernatural injunction or prohibition binding a person to conduct, drawn from myth ; a weighty obligation or spell-like charge carried by a figure in Gaelic legend

Etymology: In Irish mythology, a geis was a sacred prohibition laid on a person, often by a druid or a king, which bound them to avoid a particular act or food on pain of disaster. The most famous example is Cú Chulainn, whose geasa included never eating dog meat, and whose breaking of them brought about his death. The word therefore carried far more than a simple ban: violating it was believed to bring misfortune on the one who broke it, as if the taboo itself had a supernatural force. English borrowed the word from Irish as "geis," and it was adopted in the sense of a magical or binding prohibition rather than an ordinary rule. The spelling "geas" is an alternative form that matches the Irish spelling more closely in some respects, while "geis" better reflects the modern English pronunciation. The two forms are interchangeable, though "geis" is the more common spelling in English.

Synonyms: obligation, vow, compulsion